Castor put to the test

After the show and exhibition phase, the time has come for the prototype’s ratings tests, which started in June. The 10th Sapper Battalion is involved with these tests, having been named in 2017 as the support unit for the Pizarro Programme Office. In fact, members of the battalion have helped and advised the manufacturers, General Dynamics European Land Systems Santa Bárbara Sistemas, in aspects such as the configuration of the crew’s posts, the composition of the onboard equipment or the design of the loading area.

From the user’s perspective, what remains to be checked is that the design can be adjusted to their needs. For this, two complete crews (with doubled up drivers) from the 10th Sapper Battalion travelled to the company’s Sevillian headquarters to begin the tests, which will have various phases and will continue for a number of months.

The battalion members have had the good fortune to be the first to have direct contact with the Castor and their initial impressions could not be better. “The vehicle is incredibly ergonomic and convenient, as well as being very secure,” highlights Sargeant González Roldán who is in charge of the support team from the 10th Sapper Battalion and who is cognizant of the high standards of protection offered by the craft.

On the one hand, the tests, which have just started, take into account the more formal aspects, such as doing a review of all the elements (which they call the checklist) and seeing if they are all operating correctly or checking the loading plan (where all the Sappers’ equipment will be placed, as well as the weapons, the Individual Protection Equipment or rations). On the other hand, the tests will consider more operational matters, such as testing the mobility of every one of the posts when the whole team is in the vehicle, or checking that every one of the tools carried by the vehicle complies with the established technical conditions. “For example, if we think that the spade could knock down concrete blocks of a certain weight, we have to take a block with these characteristics and manage to knock it down,” indicates the sergeant. More specific tests will be carried out in Seville and in the ‘Cerro Muriano’ manoeuvre ground in Cordoba.